Chapter 52: Two of Us (May - August 1977)

5-8 May 1977

John Lennon, 1977.

The following is excerpted from John Lennon's autobiography, Nowhere Man[1], originally published under Apple Books, July 1990:

"There was one weekend in particular that I don't think we will ever forget. Madeline and I had just had little Freddie, George, Ringo and I (George especially) had mended fences with Paul after nearly five years of bitching in the press, and we even had a reunion as the Beatles. But we never really put out a proper reunion album for our fans, something that would eat at us for the rest of the 70s.

Paul was very much busy recording and touring with Smile, George and Ringo had reformed once again to play with the Dark Horses, and that left me to spend time with my family, something I never had the chance to do back when the Beatles were a worldwide sensation. The constant touring and recording in the 60s meant that I had little time to spend with Julian, and it was after getting divorced from Yoko that I was able to get to know Julian better. Even more so now that I had dual citizenship between America and England.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. Less than two months ago, Maddy had appeared on stage for a musical called She Loves Me as Amalia Balash, for a limited run of performances at The Town Hall in the Big Apple[2]. Having seen a performance myself, as well as having roles in Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, (Maddy would soon be appearing in Mel Brooks' next film, his fourth under Apple Films, High Anxiety) it got me interested in having a part-time acting career, be it on film or on stage. Ringo had taken up acting himself, as had David Bowie with The Man Who Fell to Earth.

So... maybe it could work out for me too? Also, I wanted an excuse to get out of the house every now and again.

'What should be the first thing I ought to know about acting performances?' I asked Maddy. 'How does it differ from performing music on stage?'

'Erm... probably not that different,' Maddy shrugged. 'I mean, you get on stage, say your lines and all. I'm... sorry i-if that-that wasn't the best advice I can offer...'

'No, no, it's fine. I'll take it,' I said. 'D'you think the transition from performing music to just performing would be easy? I have been doing it for quite a while.'

'Yeah, you have,' Maddy agreed. 'Acting, playing music, or even a simple reading, it's all in the performance.' My wife was right; being an actor or musician isn't that difficult. I'd starred in Dick Lester's How I Won the War a decade ago, and after that, I did Alice in Wonderland with the rest of the Beatles. Then when the 70s rolled around, I appeared in Willy Wonka and Blazing Saddles before landing the starring role of Young Frankenstein, and that was when I understood that being an actor's not that different from being a musician. It's all a matter of performance. Being around Maddy, Mel, Gene, etc. during production of the latter two probably helped as well.

Anyone can do it; all you need is to understand and know what you're doing.

Madeline Kahn as Victoria Brisbane in High Anxiety, released Christmas 1977. The film was Mel Brooks' fourth to be produced with Apple Films, with his contract being extended from three to five following the success of Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein in 1974.

'But what's all that got to do with a particular weekend that I mentioned? Well, it was during that conversation between me and Maddy that I brought up the topic of dropping Paul and Linda a surprise visit. Not surprisingly, she was in favor of the idea; I knew how close she and Linda had gotten over the past year, especially over Christmas 1976. Had I still been with Yoko, she would've shot the idea down, but there was a chance that Paul would've come uninvited and I'd have dismissed him, though probably without meaning to be rude. I mean, could you honestly blame a guy for trying to look after their infant child and some guy you've known for twenty years bursts in without prior warning?[3]

Anyway, we made plans to head over to the United Kingdom that May - partially so Maddy and Freddie could see the sights there, partially so I could check in to listen to some recordings by the newest signings to Apple Records, but mostly to give a surprise visit to the McCartneys. We arrived on the fifth to give ourselves a bit of time to acquaint (or reacquaint) ourselves with England, with the intention of arriving at Paul and Linda's home in Scotland on the sixth.

The three of us took a train to Scotland on the morning of the sixth - changing Freddie during station stops, of course - before arriving the rest of the way with Mal Evans driving us.[4] It was getting late in the evening by the time we had arrived at where Paul and his family lived, but I didn't care. Spirits were very high among us, and I was sure that Paul was feeling the same as well.

It was Linda who answered the door, five months pregnant, and with little Stella behind her. She smiled big when she saw Maddy, and Maddy smiled back. The two greeted and hugged each other happily, and Mal and I greeted Linda and little Stella as well. 'Sorry for turning up so late in the day,' said Maddy, 'but do you know where Paul is?'

'I'll get him,' Linda replied. 'Wait here.' She and Stella quickly went back inside to tell Paul about our surprise visit, and it was barely a minute before good old Paulie Macca returned with them to greet us.

'Well, hello there, John,' he smiled warmly, shaking my hand. 'I didn't expect you to turn up this late in the evening.' Paul then went to hug Maddy and gave little Freddie a bit of a stroke on the head.

'I just figured we'd come by to see how you were doing, Paul,' I said.

'Quite well, thank you,' Paul replied. 'Why don't you all come in?' So we did.

It was our first time being at the McCartney household that he had bought back in 1966 when he was dating Jane Asher. Since giving it renovations, I have to say, he and Linda had done a fine job, both inside and out. I could see why he preferred to live in the countryside rather than a big, bustling city like London or New York. It's isolated, private and remote, completely surrounded by grasslands, trees and bushes. He even had a small farm of his own. Quaint, but still had a bit of charm to it."

Paul and Linda McCartney, 1977. That September, they would have their first (and only) son, James McCartney.

The following is excerpted from Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, written and compiled by Barry Miles and originally published under Apple Books, October 1997:

"I was not expecting a visit from John and his family so soon following Freddie's birth, when the Lennons and McCartneys celebrated Christmas together in New York, y'know. They didn't really have to come all the way to Scotland just to see us, but still, it was a nice gesture coming from John. I mean, our friendships were a lot stronger than they had been at the start of the decade, probably even stronger than they'd been since the early days of the Beatles. I think that feeling got even stronger when a few musicians [Syd Barrett, Marc Bolan, Ronnie Van Zant] died in 1977 at a really young age, which made the four of us realize that life was too short to hold onto petty grudges, y'know. We could lose someone at any time and we may never get the chance to make amends before they die.

On the surface, the Lennons' visit wasn't anything special. But dig deeper, and there was a lot more to it. Linda and Madeline, with Heather's help, would look after the kids and sometimes tend to the animals and ride horses. Our wives had grown very close over the past year, y'know, and public would assume that it was because they were married to two of the most famous singer-songwriters in the world. Those who actually know them know that they had a lot more in common than that.

Which left me and John. He was very different from the John Lennon I knew back in 1958, 1964, 1970 or even 1974. He was a rebel growing up in Liverpool, and I was the good kid by comparison, y'know. John had to grow up without his parents being there for him, living with his aunt Mimi, while I always had support from my parents until my mother Mary died when I was fourteen. John losing his mother Julia just as they were repairing their relationship had left a big hole in his heart that had never been completely filled in. He ended up with Yoko, but their relationship fell apart after a few years and then he found Madeline and realized how much she understood him, despite having differing personalities.

John said that he wanted to clean himself up and stay away from drugs of any kind (unless they were medical reasons) and overcome his demons. By the time of the surprise visit to Scotland, John had been over two years sober and had not smoked a joint since that same time. As I had often gotten busted for drug use in the 70s, I realized that I had to stop taking them as well, and I believed that George and Ringo had followed suit as well by the end of the decade. That was perhaps the right thing to do for us, y'know; as we get older, we get wiser too.

Twenty years ago, John and I were aspiring young musicians from Liverpool, but now, come 1977, both of us were happily married - not to each other, y'know! - and with kids of our own. Over that weekend, John and I would sometimes jam on the guitar, and we'd let each other informed on what was happening in our families' lives. I remember particularly when he informed me about how the latest artists under Apple Records were doing and what they were like. He'd even brought copies of some of the new recordings like the Clash, Motörhead, Elvis Costello and Wreckless Eric.

'I can almost hear us on these recordings,' John said after, I think, the eighth song I was presented. 'There's a certain rawness to them that reminds me of our youth in Liverpool. Y'know, before all the egos and the bullshit, they could've come from some cellar in Liverpool or one of our Hamburg shows.'

I could certainly see where John was coming from, y'know; there was a particular rawness that we almost recognized. Maybe a few of them were even covering rock 'n' roll songs from the 50s, the same ones we used to play before our songwriting developed. In fact, it was practically the rise of new wave and punk music during that time that would influence not only my songwriting, but the sound of the next few Smile albums as well.

But all too soon, the visit from the Lennons had come to an end, and they would soon catch a flight back to New York. John and I promised to keep in touch with each other every now and again, and maybe have another jam session together when we have the chance. Who knew when that would be, y'know, and when all four of us would be in the same room again?'

May 27, 1977

The Queen's Medical Center, established 1859.

A Texas-born man, 22 years of age, had recently arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii. Not to take a vacation from a stressful job, but to commit suicide. He was inside a car with the windows rolled up, and with a vacuum cleaner hose attached to the exhaust pipe with the other end inside the car. Some time after the man was discovered unconscious in the car, an autopsy had been performed, confirming that he had inhaled several lungfuls of carbon monoxide. However, it was suspected that he couldn't have been breathing normally; otherwise, he would have woken up by now and survived the suicide attempt. The man must have been talking or singing in the car, taking deep breaths in between his speech, and that must've been what killed him before the hose had melted.[5]

The following day, a woman by the name of Diane Chapman received a call from The Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu. The voice on the other end asked her, "Are you the parent or guardian to Mark David Chapman?"

A few days following the shocking announcement of her son's demise, Diane was found dead at her home in Atlanta, Georgia, believed to be a suicide. She was survived by her husband David Chapman and their daughter of fifteen Susan. Some time after the death of his son and wife, in December 1980, David said in an interview that Mark was an avid Beatles fan ever since he had first bought his son the album Meet the Beatles, and even taught him to play guitar. However, since becoming a born-again Christian, Mark had sworn off playing any of the Beatles' music because of what Lennon had said about the Beatles being more popular than Jesus.

When Lennon himself was interviewed following David's comments, he said, "That May, back in 1977, I had a bit of a fright myself with a man I didn't know shooting his gun at me, five bullets going right through me and tearing through my vital organs, and then I just lay there, bleeding to death. I woke up screaming and after telling her that I felt a ghost grab at my soul, Maddy helped me calm down. We both went back to sleep, and by morning, I'd very much forgotten the nightmare I'd had."

"Do you think it was Mark Chapman shooting at you?" the interviewer asked.

Lennon just shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "It had been three years since that terrifying night, and Maddy and I never mentioned it to anyone, nor did I even think about it until now."

15 July 1977

The Dark Horses - Thirty-Three & 1/3

Released: 15 July 1977

Recorded: February - May 1977

Producer: George Harrison, assisted by Glyn Johns

Track listing[6]

Side A

Woman Don't You Cry for Me
Wonderful Tonight
Dear One
Lay Down Sally
This Be Called a Song
Pure Smokey

Side B

It's What You Value
The Core
I'll Still Love You
See Yourself
Peaches and Diesel

With John Lennon now taking full-time responsibility as a househusband - alongside the odd bit of performing - the Ladders were more or less finished. However, it would rise from the ashes as the Dark Horses, being fronted by George Harrison (lead) and Eric Clapton (rhythm) on guitar, along with the ever-faithful Ringo Starr on drums. They were also joined by Vangelis on keyboards and Ronnie Wood on bass guitar; although the latter had been associated with the Rolling Stones since 1974, even becoming part of the band during Red and Black Blues and the subsequent controversial tour, Wood still found time to perform bass duties with Harrison and company.

Recording for the Dark Horses' first album, Thirty-Three & 1/3, began shortly before Harrison's 34th birthday, with his contributions to the album having been written shortly after the release of Between the Lines (two of them, "See Yourself" and "Woman Don't You Cry for Me", had origins as early as 1967 and 1969, respectively). Clapton's contributions were originally intended for a fourth solo album before becoming full-Dark Horses recordings themselves, and both he and Harrison donated a song for Ringo to sing - "This Be Called a Song" and "I'll Still Love You" (a rewrite of "When Every Song is Sung", a track Harrison had given to Ronnie Spector back in 1971). The sessions for the album were largely uneventful, although Harrison was planning to marry his girlfriend, Olivia Arias, later that year.

Thirty-Three & 1/3 was backed by the single "Wonderful Tonight"/"Pure Smokey" a few days before the album's release. The A-side was penned by Clapton about his girlfriend (and Harrison's ex-wife) Pattie Boyd, who had also inspired Harrison's "Something" eight years prior. The single reached #3 in the United States but did not reach any higher than #29 in the United Kingdom. The follow-up singles, "It's What You Value"/"Next Time You See Her" (August 8, #16 US) and "I'll Still Love You"/"Lay Down Sally" (November 7, #28 UK), were not Top 10 hits on either side of the Atlantic.

Shortly after the release of the album, George Harrison and Olivia Arias were married in a private ceremony at the Henley-on-Thames Register Office in England on 6 August 1977, close to his home at Friar Park.[7] Like Harrison's wedding to Pattie Boyd, Paul McCartney served as the best man with Linda as maid of honor. John Lennon, Madeline Kahn and Ringo Starr also turned up at the subsequent party at Friar Park along with Brian Epstein, Mal Evans, Neil Aspinall, Peter Brown, Derek Taylor, as well as the Lennon, McCartney and Starkey children (with Cynthia and Maureen coming along too), Harrison's immediate family, and a few other members of British rock or entertainment royalty, including Eric Clapton and Pattie Boyd, Vangelis, Ronnie Wood, Klaus Voormann and Michael Palin. The following day, the newly-wed Harrisons began their honeymoon in Hawaii.

Footnotes

1. The title of John Lennon's autobiography his is a reference to Robert Rosen's Nowhere Man: The Final Days of John Lennon, published 2000 after getting access to Lennon's diaries in 1981. OTL's Nowhere Man was a controversial account of Lennon's last five years up to his murder, contradicting the official view of Lennon as a contended househusband. This was initially brought up in Albert Goldman's controversial Lennon biography, The Lives of John Lennon, in 1988, before being further confirmed twelve years later.
2. Madeline Kahn also starred alongside Barry Bostwick (Georg Nowack), Rita Moreno (Ilona Ritter, reprising the role from the original London run in 1964), George Rose (Zoltan Maraczek) and Laurence Guittard (Steven Kodaly) for She Loves Me in March 1977. John Lennon was still living in New York at the time. As he's married to Madeline in this universe, this remains unaffected, save for John wanting to take acting performances more seriously.
3. This is a reference to what had actually happened when John Lennon and Paul McCartney saw each other in person for the last time on April 25, 1976, the day after Lorne Michaels made a joke offer for the Beatles to reunite on Saturday Night Live.
4. Mal Evans was killed by the Los Angeles police on January 5, 1976 when they mistook an air rifle he was holding for an actual rifle; him being a very tall person probably didn't help Mal's case either. In TTL, with Apple Corps being much stronger, Mal likely got his life together during the first half of the 1970s and became a valuable asset to the company. Also, he was able to publish his book, Living the Beatles Legend, the manuscript of which, in OTL, ended up being lost in the mail following his death. Had it not gotten lost and been published posthumously, it would've been the first book written by a true insider regarding the Beatles.
5. In OTL, Mark David Chapman's suicide attempt failed and made a recovery in hospital. He later then began to work at the hospital part-time before marrying and becoming a security guard. Afterwards, he moved to New York in 1980... and you can very much guess what happened on that fateful day that same year.
6. Tracks are sourced from George Harrison's Thirty-Three & 1/3, Eric Clapton's Slowhand, and Ringo Starr's Ringo's Rotogravure.
7. George Harrison and Olivia Arias were married in September 1978, shortly after the birth of their only son, Dhani. A likely reason for them marrying early would've been good feelings between the Beatles in TTL, particularly between George and Paul.

Author's Comments

First off, I'd just like to say happy (early) 80th birthday to Ringo Starr! Yet he doesn't look eighty if we consider his past history of drug use; he almost looks like he could easily pass for fifty. But here's hoping he and Paul will still be around for new music to come.

This is one of those chapters that's pretty light on alternate albums, instead putting heavy emphasis on the personal lives of the former Beatles in 1977. It was really interesting reading about what Madeline Kahn was up to during that time, especially since she was taking part in a limited performance run of She Loves Me in New York. Also interesting was having large chunks of narrative focusing on the perspectives of John Lennon and Paul McCartney during the unexpected Scotland visit. I dunno if they will be a frequent fixture in the later chapters, but I reckon they'd be fun to do if I did.

And yep, the man infamous for killing John Lennon has finished himself off. It was pretty much a foregone conclusion from the get-go that John would survive past 1980, though he will eventually die, most likely from old age. I guess ten years' worth of butterflies would be enough to shake a few things up, however minor they might be. Fifty years' worth, however, would make the world a lot different from how we see it today!

Album cover for Thirty-Three & 1/3 was designed by Auran.

Additional Information: 27 Club

Left to right: Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Brian Jones. All three musicians died at the age of 27 and within two years of each other (1969-1971).

The 27 Club is a term referring to popular musicians, artists or actors who died either at the age of 27, or between the ages of eighteen and 35, with 27 being the statistical average between the minimum and maximum ages. Regardless of which group of celebrities this should refer to, it has become a cultural phenomenon by documenting their deaths, with some being known for risky lifestyles such as drug and alcohol abuse or violent means such as homicide, suicide, or transport-related accidents.

The term initially came to popular usage when Brian Jones (the Rolling Stones), Janis Joplin (Big Brother and the Holding Company) and Jim Morrison (the Doors) all died at twenty-seven between the years of 1969 and 1971 - Jimi Hendrix had a very close call in 1970, and so was able to celebrate his 28th birthday the same year. However, an earlier example was in 1938, when blues musician Robert Johnson died of unknown causes, aged 27.

Upon Phil Spector's death by car accident in 1974, at the age of 34, the topic of people involved with music dying young was brought up again, even suggesting that they could be as old as 35 and still be considered having died young. This was proposed in an article by the New York Times, close to Spector's birthplace, even including those who died between eighteen and 26 (Buddy Holly at 22, Otis Redding at 26, etc.) or between 28 and 35 (The Big Bopper at 28, Danny Whitten at 29, etc.).[1]

The article by the New York Times prompted a response by the Hollywood Reporter, arguing that if the 27 Club also included those who died as young as eighteen or as old as 35, then it would become overcrowded and disorganized. Many fans of rock music also got in on the debate that still goes on to this day, especially on internet forums and sites.

It wouldn't be until late 1977 when the topic of the 27 Club would be raised once again - as well as further arguments on how it should be defined - when Syd Barrett (31) of Pink Floyd and Hunky Dory, Marc Bolan (29) of T. Rex, and Ronnie Van Zant (29), Steve (28) and Cassie Gaines (29) of Lynyrd Skynyrd all died within two months of each other, all in transport-related accidents. (Elvis Presley was not considered, having died at the age of 42, seven years older than the proposed maximum of 35.) This topic would be further dragged into the end of the 1970s and the start of the 1980s, when the likes of Keith Moon (32), John Bonham (32), Bon Scott (33) and Ozzy Osbourne (33) would all die within a few years of each other, this time from drug or alcohol abuse, and in some cases, choking on their own vomit.[2]

Whether or not anyone in the 27 Club either died at that age or as young as eighteen or as old as 35, one thing that most can agree on is that despite dying so young, their legacies will last forever.

Footnotes

1. In OTL, the idea of a "27 Club" caught on in public perception following Kurt Cobain's death in 1994.
2. This is a partial spoiler as to what's to come for Phase Three.

Author's Comments

A bit of an extension to chapter 51, talking about this universe's equivalent to the 27 Club. This time, some rock critics are suggesting that it also gives membership to those who died between the ages of eighteen and 35, given that 27 is the average between them. But what do you guys think? Should the club be bigger than it is, or should it only include those who died at 27?

Chapter 51: (Don't Fear) The Reaper (September 1976 - August 1977)

September - November 1976

David Bowie and Iggy Pop in West Berlin, Germany, late 1976.

To say that the Rolling Stones' Thin White Duke period - largely fronted by David Bowie - had been controversial would be an understatement. By the end of summer 1976, it was announced to the press that Bowie would be parting ways with the rest of the Rolling Stones - Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. Bowie would later be replaced by Ronnie Wood, who was also a part of George Harrison and Ringo Starr's post-Ladders group, the Dark Horses alongside Eric Clapton and Vangelis Papathanassíou. A common nickname for the supergroup was "ABC", referring to former members of Aphrodite's Child (Vangelis), the Beatles (Harrison and Starr) and Cream (Clapton), respectively.[1]

DAVID BOWIE: "I think it was for the best that I'd left the Stones. My music was becoming far more experimental and the rest just couldn't keep up with me. What happened with the Duke just further solidified that, and I didn't want them to share the burden that I'd brought upon them. The good thing about the split was that I could focus more on Hunky Dory... if Syd and the rest were willing to work with me. I'm still kind of surprised they wanted anything to do with me after the Thin White Duke fiasco." (1985)

IGGY POP: "Yeah, we could've just ditched Dave outright and have nothing to do with him after the Thin White Duke, but he was practically the reason we were part of Hunky Dory to begin with. He'd done some stupid shit, but so did we in the past. Everyone's got good and bad in them. I'd written some new material myself and wanted to get it down on record with the guys." (2002)

The sessions for the next Hunky Dory project, Kicks, marked the beginning of what would later be called David Bowie's Berlin saga. Getting back together with Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Syd Barrett, Kevin Ayers and Robert Wyatt, the sextet of crazy diamonds recorded Kicks at the recently established Hansa Tonstudio in West Berlin, Germany. Bowie and Pop were especially prolific while the remaining four had brought in leftovers from previous projects. A double album wouldn't do, and a triple was out of the question. This meant that the material would have to be spread over two single albums, as well as a duet project between Bowie and Pop.

14 January 1977

Hunky Dory - Kicks

Released: 14 January 1977

Recorded: September - November 1976

Producer: Hunky Dory and Tony Visconti

Track listing[2]

Side A

Speed of Life
No Man's Land
Sonia
Funtime
City Waltz
Kicks

Side B

Solar Flares
Sweet Deceiver
Weeping Wall
Feel
Nobody's Business
I'm Sick of You

Hunky Dory's sixth album barely missed the Top 10 in the United Kingdom at #11, while it topped out at #23 in the United States. The influence of the musical scene in Germany could be felt throughout, what with Bowie taking in interest in the likes of Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk and Harmonia, the latter of whom Brian Eno was a member of, who would later work with Bowie on the latter's future solo projects. Kicks would later be regarded as Hunky Dory's greatest work in retrospective reviews by professional critics.

21 January - 6 July 1977

Pink Floyd - The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

Released: 21 January 1977

Recorded: April - December 1976

Producer: Pink Floyd

Track listing[3]

Side A

Apparently They Were Travelling Abroad (4:30)
Running Shoes (4:33)
Arabs with Knives and West German Skies (4:37)
For the First Time Today, Part 2 (4:39)
Sexual Revolution (4:41)
The Remains of Our Love (4:47)

Side B

Go Fishing (4:50)
For the First Time Today, Part 1 (4:56)
Dunroamin, Duncarin, Dunlivin (4:58)
The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking (5:01)
Every Stranger's Eyes (5:06)
The Moment of Clarity (5:11)

Meanwhile, things were similarly interesting for Syd Barrett's former band, Pink Floyd. Following their Animals tour, the band took a hiatus from work to spend time with their families. However, tensions were growing between Roger Waters and his childhood sweetheart turned wife Judith Trim to the point that they cheated on each other. Divorce was finalized by the end of 1975 and the couple had no children. Waters would later go on to marry Lady Carolyne Christie, niece of the 3rd Marquess of Zetland, Lawrence Dundas, the following year. Trim would not remarry until 1996 to Leonard Hessing before dying of breast cancer in 2001 at the age of 57.

DAVID GILMOUR: "Roger called us back into the studio that April to present us with a concept dubbed The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking. He didn't disclose to us that it was inspired by his divorce with Judy until after she died. It wasn't that hard for me, Nick and Rick to connect the dots, but at least Rog decided to come clean with us." (2005)

(On the 2001 reissue of The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, and all future reissues, the liner notes would include the sentence, at Roger Waters' request, "Dedicated to Judith Trim, my first love whom I left behind.")

The story being Pros and Cons focused on a man's scattered, conflicting thoughts and feelings in the middle of a road trip through California, such as his ongoing midlife crisis and fantasies of adultery with a female hitchhiker he's picked up along the way. He then faces other fears and paranoia, with all of these events taking place in real time between 4:30 and 5:12 in the morning of an unspecified day.[4]

Pink Floyd's tenth album was also the first to have every song credited to Roger Waters, whereas on the previous album Animals, the track "Dogs" was credited alongside David Gilmour, although Waters received greater royalties. Rick Wright later felt bad for not pushing forward material of his own, and Nick Mason recalled Gilmour getting frustrated over not getting royalties over it. If Animals was the album where it felt to Waters that he was the sole writer for Pink Floyd, then The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking was the album that seemed to further solidify this delusion.

Pink Floyd performing live at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada, the last show of their infamous In the Flesh Tour, July 6, 1977. During the performance, Roger Waters angrily spat on a fan for being disruptive.

Pros and Cons topped out at #13 in the United States, but it did better in the United Kingdom at #6; the title track was released as a single there and hit #76 with "Every Stranger's Eyes" as the B-side. Compared to Animals or even The Dark Side of the Moon, Pros and Cons received mixed reviews, although they did lean more towards positive. Rolling Stone was among the more negative reviews, giving the album one out of five stars for saying it felt less like a Pink Floyd album and more like a Roger Waters solo album. "At least Animals had David Gilmour contribute 'Dogs (Raving and Drooling)'!" the review stated.

Shortly after the release of The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, Pink Floyd went on their next concert tour, the In the Flesh Tour, lasting from 23 January to 6 July 1977. The last show took place at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada; throughout the past five months or so, Pink Floyd had experienced playing at large stadiums for the first time, their size making the band feel nervous and Waters was constantly on edge, often yelling at disruptive audiences for screaming during the quieter numbers.

During the Montreal show, the final straw was when a particularly rowdy group of fans in the front row irritated Waters so much that in retaliation, he spat at one of them. The incident was later humorously (although rather tastelessly, given the circumstances) dubbed "the spit hitting the fan." It only got worse afterward when Pink Floyd performed a blues jam for those refusing to let them leave the stadium; a small riot took place at the front of the stage when they eventually left.

ROGER WATERS: "I was just so fucking done. We'd reached the top, but it was not glorious as we thought it'd be. Once you've reached it, it's all downhill from there. We'd become big, and that alienated us from our fandom. Pink Floyd took a break following that damned tour, but I wanted out altogether. I told Nick that I was leaving the Floyd and there was nothing he, Rick or Dave could do to change my mind. It wasn't made public yet, and it was not even two months that I announced my departure when I got a call from Rosemary [Syd Barrett's sister]..." (1987)

15 July 1977

David Bowie & Iggy Pop - Sound and Vision

Released: 15 July 1977

Recorded: September 1976 - February 1977

Producer: David Bowie and Tony Visconti

Track listing[5]

Side A

Sound and Vision
Nightclubbing
Always Crashing in the Same Car
V-2 Schneider
Tiny Girls
Be My Wife

Side B

Dum Dum Boys
Breaking Glass
Sense of Doubt
Baby
Blackout

David Bowie and Iggy Pop's duet album, Sound and Vision, was largely recorded during the same sessions that ultimately produced Hunky Dory's Kicks. After its release, it topped out at #2 in the United Kingdom and #11 in the United States, with the title track being released as a single with "Nightclubbing" as the B-side (#1 UK for one week in the midst of Bee Gees domination, #26 US). Although Sound and Vision was divisive upon release, it has since been regarded as David Bowie's best work, as well as one of the best Hunky Dory solo projects (while the band was still active) and the point where Iggy Pop's solo career could truly begin in earnest, with Lust for Life coming out on August 29 under Highway 61 Records (also produced with Bowie).

5 - 28 August 1977

Hunky Dory - The Idiot

Released: 5 August 1977

Recorded: March - April 1977

Producer: Hunky Dory and Tony Visconti

Track listing[6]

Side A

Sister Midnight
Observation
What in the World
Here I Go
She's My Best Friend

Side B

Diminished But Not Finished
A Gift
Rats
Mass Production
A New Career in a New Town

LOU REED: "When we put out The Idiot, we figured that it was high time that we finally got off our asses and go out on a tour in Europe. Much of it was attributed to David, of course." (2001)

KEVIN AYERS: "I didn't even like going crazy with promotion on my solo albums, or with Hunky Dory, but since a lot of Europeans didn't give much of a shit about crazy-ass guys like myself or Syd, I figured, what the hell." (2007)

Not too long after the release of Hunky Dory's seventh album, The Idiot (#6 UK, #38 US), the sextet began their tour throughout Europe, starting in Switzerland on 8 August. Later performances would then take place in Italy, Greece, Poland, Norway, and then back to their current "hometown", West Berlin, Germany, taking place on 24 August. In between shows, there was the odd bit of sightseeing, but all of that would come to an end shortly after the West Berlin performance.

A drunken man had accidentally stumbled in front of Hunky Dory's tour bus, causing the driver to pull on the steering wheel, accidentally causing the bus to flip over while doing so. All six members plus the bus driver were quickly taken to the nearest hospital to recover while the drunken man was taken into the police station for questioning. David Bowie, Kevin Ayers and Robert Wyatt all had relatively minor injuries, but Iggy Pop, Lou Reed and the bus driver would have to stay in order to recover. The sole casualty was Syd Barrett, having died from his injures a few days later on 28 August 1977 at the age of 31.[7]

SYD BARRETT: "Shine on..." (his last words, though often debated but were along those lines, 28 August 1977)

Syd Barrett, August 1977; the last photo of him ever taken. Barrett had requested for an older picture of him on the cover of Hunky Dory's The Idiot just so he wouldn't look older than the rest of the group due to his receding hairline.

ROBERT WYATT: "'Shine on.' Those two words. Our last album with him while he was still alive was his final legacy before he was so cruelly taken away from us. He may have been a little crazy, but he was our friend, an inspiration to us all." (1977, less than a month after Barrett's death)

With Syd Barrett's death, Hunky Dory's planned performances in the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom were cancelled. It was Barrett's death, alongside the later deaths of a few members of Lynyrd Skynyrd (Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and sister Cassie), Marc Bolan of T. Rex and Shirley Brickley of the Orlons that brought forth the topic concerning the trend of music artists dying between the ages of eighteen and 35, later to be known as the 27 Club (27 being the statistical average between the minimum and maximum ages of dying young; however, it remains debated as to whether it should refer to artists who actually died at 27 or between the ages of eighteen and 35).

When Roger Waters got the word of his friend's death from Rosemary Barrett, he had now found himself in a difficult situation, especially when he was forced to temporarily reunite with the band that he had just departed following the aftermath of the last show of the In the Flesh Tour...

Footnotes

1. This is a reference to the short-lived UK supergroup, XYZ, consisting of Jimmy Page, Chris Squire, Alan White and Dave Lawson. The name is derived from eX-Yes-&-Zeppelin, as it consisted of members from Yes (Squire and White) and Led Zeppelin (Page).
2. Tracks are sourced from David Bowie's Low, Syd Barrett's The Madcap Laughs, Robert Wyatt's Ruth is Stranger Than Richard, Iggy Pop's The Idiot and Raw Power, Kevin Ayers' Sweet Deceiver, and Lou Reed's Coney Island Baby.
3. All tracks are sourced from Roger Waters' solo album of the same name.
4. Roger Waters began developing The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking as early as 1977. However, with Animals being developed earlier and released in 1975, it's very likely the same could've happened with Pros and Cons.
5. Tracks are sourced from David Bowie's Low and "Heroes", and Iggy Pop's The Idiot.
6. Tracks are sourced from Iggy Pop's The Idiot, Kevin Ayers' Sweet Deceiver, David Bowie's Low, Syd Barrett's The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, and Lou Reed's Coney Island Baby.
7. In OTL, Syd Barrett died on 7 July 2006 at the age of 60 from pancreatic cancer.

Author's Comments

At long last, we kick off the third phase of Strawberry Peppers! And what a way to kick off too!

First point of discussion is that David Bowie has left the Rolling Stones. This was brought up to me by Will Steadman on Discord as he believed that Bowie would've felt that the Stones weren't being experimental enough for him to want to stick around. Thinking about that more, I decided that I agreed with him and so from 1977 onward, David Bowie is more or less a solo act. How this will affect the Rolling Stones following his departure (and Ronnie Wood's arrival), we have yet to see. It'll be interesting to see if I can change up their 1978-1986 output to improve upon the weak spots, but we'll find out if it's feasible.

Next up, it's Syd Barrett dying nearly three decades earlier than he did in OTL; there's some further Gummaumma influence there, along with Roger Waters deciding to leave Pink Floyd altogether, only to be forced back in following Barrett's death. "But just for one album," he says. Finally, we'll get to see this universe's Wish You Were Here! Next post will be about this universe's definition of the 27 Club, and after that, chapter 52, returning to the lives of the Fab Four.

Intermission: Somebody to Love

13 July 1985 - Wembley Stadium, London

"It's 12 noon in London, 7 AM in Philadelphia, and around the world it's time for Live Aid," announced Richard Skinner. "Wembley welcomes their Royal Highnesses, the Prince and Princess of Wales."

The Beatles and their families had finally arrived at Wembley Stadium in London; they were now watching Prince Charles and and his wife Diana on the television screen as the former greeted the crowd with a wave. Bob Geldof was to the Prince's left (right in viewer's perspective).

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Royal Salute!"

No sooner had Tommy Vance made this announcement, the Coldstream Guards kicked off the Wembley show with the first six bars to "God Save the Queen". They'd been performing for the British Army for two hundred years, and it seemed fitting that they be the ones to kick off the show.

"And now, to start off sixteen hours of Live Aid," Vance announced again, "would you welcome, Status Quo!"

"Let's leave the telly on," John Lennon told his bandmates. "This concert's a big deal."

"This'll be even bigger than when we did the one for Bangladesh," remarked George Harrison. "Well, back when we weren't on the best of terms with Paul," he added, acknowledging his south-pawed friend.

"Yeah, but y'know, it's all in the past," Paul McCartney assured, slightly smiling, "and we're all good friends again. We have to stick together, y'know, no matter what life throws our way."

John and George, as well as Ringo Starr, could not have agreed more; they had reunited at the start of the 1980s, which became a huge deal in the music world, but lately? They were being viewed by some critics, especially in the United States, as relics of the 1960s having gone way beyond their prime despite not playing together that much in the previous decade. In the United Kingdom, however, they had managed to salvage things by starring in a successful children's television program based upon a series of books by a clergyman, and even had a number one single the previous year.

The Beatles performing at Live Aid was a huge deal for John, Paul, George and Ringo. Either they'd pull off a hugely successful performance and maybe record a new album with renewed optimism, or it would all come crashing down on them and they'd break up once more, this time for good. If there was something between the two extremes... well, who knew? Nobody could predict what would happen.

They spent the next several hours going over their planned setlist and making sure everything was tuned just right; they planned on kicking off with a few rockers, then an acoustic medley, and then a piano-based closer. John would then come back on stage towards the end of the concert, about 22:45-ish (5:45 PM in Philadelphia), and everyone within their party knew what song he would be performing at that time, along with a little surprise before the Band Aid group performance at the very end.

At long last, the Beatles were told by a stagehand that it was almost time for them to appear on the stage.

"Well, this is it, lads," John said to the others. "An event that's been nearly thirty years in the making." Had anyone told him, back in the 1950s, that he'd be playing for a charity concert on this exact date, he would've laughed and dismissed it with a rude, possibly even vulgar, remark. But now, this was happening, and there was no backing down now.

Ringo could see Phil Collins leaving the stage with the three surviving members of the Who; Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle. Several years ago, Phil has been a part of the progressive rock group Genesis, but he left the group to pursue a gig with the Who, succeeding Keith Moon, who had died seven years ago. Alongside his work with the Who, Phil had also pursued a solo career, having so far put out three albums.

Neither the Who nor the Beatles said anything to one another as the former left the stage to make way for the latter, but their facial expressions and the odd hand gesture were enough of a sign to show that the Who had done very well out there, and in return, they were telling the Beatles to break a leg. (Ironically, it is a theatrical superstition that it's actually bad luck to say "good luck" to someone when they're about to perform on stage.)

Not too far away from the Beatles, Julian Lennon could see his younger half-brother Freddie playing with James and Dhani, the respective sons of Paul and Linda, and George and Olivia. Although the three boys were still quite young, many had somewhat expected that one day, they'd form a band of their own like their dads before them, but of course, they were also free to pursue solo careers.

Zak Starkey looked over at his new wife, Sarah Menikides, who was having a bit of a "girls' hangout" with James' older sisters, Heather, Mary and Stella, Zak's younger sister Lee and Julian and Freddie's little sister Alice (Jason was helping to look after the smaller kids). Zak kissed Sarah, who then placed his hand onto her stomach; seven months pregnant. Expecting in September, they would be bringing in the first ever Beatle grandchild into the world.

But what about Maddy, Linda, Livvy and Babs? Much like their respective husbands, they were in their own group, sitting on chairs, gossiping about anything. They were also joined by Cynthia, Pattie and Maureen, the respective ex-wives of John, George and Ringo.

Out of the first Beatle wives, Linda was the only one who stayed married to Paul, a marriage of sixteen years and counting. In 1969, John was married to Yoko Ono, and while she and Linda never really hated each other - unlike their husbands at the time - the latter did sometimes feel intimidated by the former. But now, Madeline Kahn had taken Yoko's place as John's wife, and so far his most successful marriage. She was warm, kind-hearted and funny, and it always brought a sense of delight whenever she, Linda, Olivia and Barbara were in the same room.

Yes, since the beginning of the 1980s, the Beatles had become more than just a musical affair. They were a family. And no one wanted to trade that for anything in the world.

John, Paul, George and Ringo were now close to the stage entrance, holding onto their guitars and (in Ringo's case) drumsticks, feeling excited but a little anxious about what was going to happen. Bob Geldof, one of the people responsible for organizing this event, was giving his introduction.

"This could be the most important performance of the entire concert," he was saying, "let alone the entirety of rock music history. So, please let me introduce to you, the act you've known for all these years..." He paused for dramatic effect; there was some scattered chuckling at the reference Geldof had just made, but they were drowned out by unstoppable clapping and screaming the moment he said their name...

"THE BEATLES!"

Extra Scenes: Hunky Dory Solo Projects (April 1972 - October 1976)

Pre-Highway 61 Albums (1972 - 1975)

The Velvet Underground - Satellite of Love

Released: April 7, 1972

Recorded: September 27, 1969 and December 1971 - January 1972

Producer: The Velvet Underground and Richard Robinson

Track listing[1]

Side A

I'm Gonna Move Right In

Going Down

Love Makes You Feel

New York Telephone Conversation

Berlin

Side B

Satellite of Love

Wild Child

I Love You

Walk and Talk It

Goodnight Ladies

The Velvet Underground's sixth and final album was actually intended to be a Lou Reed solo album, but a phone call with John Cale had prompted Reed to reconsider, eventually resulting in Satellite of Love becoming a full band effort. "What the hell, we might as well go out on a high note," Reed had said when recording began.

The only track not recorded during the sessions was "I'm Gonna Move Right In", an outtake from their fourth album, IV, but four more tracks - "Walk and Talk It", "I Love You", "Wild Child" and "Love Makes You Feel" - had actually been written and performed live in 1970 but never recorded in the studio. Another track, "Satellite of Love" had also been demoed in 1970, along with "New York Telephone Conversation" and "Goodnight Ladies" being played live in the same year as well. "Going Down" and "Berlin" were the only new tracks written for Satellite of Love.

The Velvet Underground's swan song hit #189 in the United States; whilst better than the previous album Loaded (#202), it still didn't achieve the heights that their debut album with Nico did (#171). The title track was also released as a single with "Love Makes You Feel", achieving far greater success in the United Kingdom when released in August (#119 US, #51 UK). But this minor success wasn't enough to keep the Velvet Underground from breaking up and Lou Reed moving onto a solo career, as well as the odd collaboration with Hunky Dory.

Lou Reed - Berlin

Released: July 20, 1973

Recorded: 1973

Producer: Bob Ezrin

Kevin Ayers - The Confessions of Dr. Dream and Other Stories

Released: May 10, 1974

Recorded: February - March 1974

Producer: Rupert Hine

Track listing[2]

Side A

Decadence

See You Later/Didn't Feel Lonely Till I Thought of You

It Begins With a Blessing/Once I Awakened/But It Ends With a Curse

Internotional Anthem

Side B

The Confessions of Doctor Dream

Ballbearing Blues

Beware of the Dog

The Confessions of Dr. Dream and Other Stories was Kevin Ayers' first album since 1971's Whatevershebringswesing, as well as his first with Ollie Halsall, who would later go on to become a constant musical partner for Ayers, even on his works with Hunky Dory. Comprised of various holdovers from Melting Pottery and the then-to-be-released The Gouster, Dr. Dream did not chart, but it has been regarded as one of Kevin Ayers' best works.

Lou Reed - Sally Can't Dance

Released: August 9, 1974

Recorded: March 18 - April 26, 1974

Producer: Steve Katz and Lou Reed

David Bowie - Sweet Thing

Released: January 17, 1975

Recorded: August - November 1974

Producer: David Bowie and Tony Visconti

Track listing[3]

Side A

We Are the Dead

Sweet Thing

Win

Candidate

Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family

Side B

Somebody Up There Likes Me

Time

Can You Hear Me

Sweet Thing (Reprise)

Like his previous solo albums, David Bowie's Sweet Thing was comprised of leftovers from previous Rolling Stones albums, plus the soon-to-be-released Young Americans. After it was released at the start of 1975, it went on to reach #5 and #3 in the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively. However, although no one knew it at the time, Bowie was beginning to feel that the Rolling Stones were not experimental enough for him to stick around for the long run, which would eventually come to a head in the aftermath of the controversy surrounding his new persona, the Thin White Duke.

[AN: Yes, the album is released on Apple Records; I just put it there for chronology's sake.]

Robert Wyatt - Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard

Released: May 23, 1975

Recorded: October 1974 - March 1975

Producer: Robert Wyatt and Nick Mason

Track listing[4]

Side A

Sea Song

Alifib

Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road

Side B

Soup Song

Muddy Mouse

Team Spirit

Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard was Robert Wyatt's first solo release following his accident that resulted in him becoming paralyzed from the waist down in 1973. Shortly after the release of The Gouster, Wyatt returned to the studio with Nick Mason to produce the album, with the first side comprising of art rock, and the second side being adaptations and arrangements of other people's music, much like Wyatt had done for Matching Mole's Little Red Record, Matching Mole's second and final album.

The album received a mixed public response, and it would be another decade before Robert Wyatt released another studio album. Over time, however, it became regarded as a forgotten gem among rock music fans.

Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music

Released: July 11, 1975

Recorded: 1975

Producer: Lou Reed

Highway 61 Albums (1976)

Kevin Ayers - Yes We Have No Mañanas (So Get Your Mañanas Today)

Released: June 18, 1976

Recorded: March 1976

Producer: Muff Winwood

Lou Reed - Rock and Roll Heart

Released: October 8, 1976

Recorded: 1976

Producer: Lou Reed

Both Yes We Have No Mañanas (So Get Your Mañanas Today) and Rock and Roll Heart were recorded and released after the members of Hunky Dory (barring David Bowie, already part of the Apple roster) signed up to Highway 61 Records. Kevin Ayers, always trying to stay out of the limelight, didn't bother with any promotion for his album, although it somehow got to #82 in the United States. Meanwhile, Lou Reed had greater success with his own album, managing to do #49 in the United States and an even better #40 in the United Kingdom.

From these albums onward, Lou Reed, Kevin Ayers, Robert Wyatt, as well as Syd Barrett and Iggy Pop would be latched onto Highway 61 Records, even after the break up of Hunky Dory following a tragedy...

Footnotes

1. "I'm Gonna Move Right In" is sourced from Another View; the remaining tracks are sourced from Lou Reed's eponymous solo debut album and Transformer.
2. Tracks are sourced from Bananamour and The Confessions of Dr. Dream and Other Stories.
3. Most tracks are sourced from Diamond Dogs and Young Americans. "Time" is sourced from Aladdin Sane.
4. Tracks are sourced from Rock Bottom and Ruth is Stranger Than Richard. "Muddy Mouse" is an amalgamation of "Muddy Mouse (a)", "Muddy Mouse (b)" and "Muddy Mouse (c)/Muddy Mouth".

Author's Comments

And here we go with the final extra scene for Phase Two; the solo projects the Hunky Dory members went through during 1973-1976, plus the final Velvet Underground album in 1972 as a bonus. The Lou Reed albums from 1973-1976 plus Kevin Ayers' Yes We Have No Mananas are all released in their original form, hence the track listings are not listed for each of them. I felt there was no reason to change them up.

The reason I made this the final extra scene to be posted publicly is to serve as a lead in to the first chapter (51st overall) to Phase Three, which will be about the members of Hunky Dory, as well as Syd Barrett's former band, Pink Floyd. And what do I mean by a tragedy taking place with Hunky Dory? Wait and see...

Extra Scenes: The Zombies and Russ Ballard (February 1971 - December 1974)

19 February 1971 - 6 December 1974

Russ Ballard - Ring of Hands

Released: 19 February 1971

Recorded: 1969-1970

Producer: Rod Argent and Chris White

Track listing[1]

Side A

Chained
Liar
Be Free
Schoolgirl
Lothlorien

Side B

Lonely Hard Road
Cast Your Spell Uranus
Sleep Won't Help Me
Stepping Stone
Bring You Joy

By the end of the 1960s, the Zombies had gone through a major shakeup with its band members. Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent had both stayed on as vocalists, with the latter also taking up keyboards, but they were joined by Bob Henrit (drums), Russ Ballard (guitar) and Jim Rodford (bass; Argent's cousin) following the departure of Paul Atkinson and Hugh Grundy. Even though Chris White stopped performing with them, he still stayed on as a non-performing songwriter and even became joint producer for the Zombies alongside Argent.

As well as doing guitar parts for the Zombies, Russ Ballard had taken up songwriting and singing. To avoid having to fight over album space, Ballard was granted the opportunity to put his own material out on solo albums with the Zombies playing as his sidemen and White and Argent in the producer's chair. The resulting album was Ring of Hands, which received mixed to positive reviews from critics but did not chart in either the United States or the United Kingdom. Nor did the sole single, "Liar", backed with "Schoolgirl".

The Zombies - Ennismore

Released: 21 April 1972

Recorded: 1971

Producer: Rod Argent and Chris White

Track listing[2]

Side A

Celebration
I Don't Believe in Miracles
Sweet Mary
Andorra
I Want Some More
Hold Your Head Up

Side B

Quartet (Exclusively for Me/A Sign/Every Sound/How Wrong)
Pleasure
I've Always Had You
Time's Running Out
I Am the Dance of Ages

The Zombies' follow-up to Back from the Dead, however, fared much better, charting at #23 in the United States and #13 in the United Kingdom. The lead single off of Ennismore was "Hold Your Head Up"/"I've Always Had You", which hit #5 in both countries, being regarded as one of the band's greatest ever singles alongside "Time of the Season". The follow-up single, "I Don't Believe in Miracles"/"Celebration", hit #31 in the United Kingdom.

Russ Ballard - All Together Now

Released: 28 July 1972

Recorded: 1971

Producer: Rod Argent and Chris White

Track listing[3]

Side A

Keep on Rollin'
He's a Dynamo
Tragedy
Where Are We Going Wrong

Side B

Be My Lover, Be My Friend
Pure Love (Fantasia/Prelude/Pure Love/Finale)

The majority of Ballard's sophomore album was recorded alongside Ennismore, and it even featured songwriting contributions from Argent and White, notably "Keep on Rollin'", "Be My Lover, Be My Friend", and the "Pure Love" suite. But like Ring of Hands, All Together Now didn't leave much of an impression on the charts on either side of the Atlantic.

Russ Ballard - In Deep

Released: 21 September 1973

Recorded: 1972-1973

Producer: Rod Argent and Chris White

Track listing[4]

Side A

God Gave Rock and Roll to You
It's Only Money, Part 1
It's Only Money, Part 2
Love

Side B

Thunder and Lightning
Rosie
Man for All Reasons
Gonna Meet My Maker

Unlike Ballard's previous efforts, In Deep managed to hit the charts in the United States, but at a measly #149. However, he did manage to gain a hit single in the United Kingdom, "God Gave Rock and Roll to You", at #18. (It also hit #114 in America.) In fact, it was notable enough to have cover versions recorded by Petra (1977 and 1984) and Kiss (1991), both times with altered lyrics.

The Zombies - Christmas for the Free

Released: 1 February 1974

Recorded: 1973

Producer: Rod Argent and Chris White

Track listing[5]

Side A

Wonderful
The Coming of Kohutek
Beware
Once Around the Sun
Infinite Wanderer

Side B

Christmas for the Free
Beginning
Keep the Curtains Closed Today
Music from the Spheres

Although it wasn't known at the time, Christmas for the Free turned out to be the last Zombies album for at least seventeen years, citing exhaustion within the band, although this has never been fully explained. The album hit #90 in the United States and #49 in the United Kingdom, but no singles were released off of it. Shortly afterward, the Zombies performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 24 February and then St. Albans City Hall on 9 March. These recordings would be put out on the live album, Encore: Live in Concert, on 6 December.

Shortly after the live performances, Russ Ballard had left the Zombies to pursue a solo and songwriting career, writings hits such as Hot Chocolate's "So You Win Again" and Rainbow's "Since You Been Gone". By the end of 1974, the Zombies had split up for good, with Argent, Henrit and Rodford carrying on with two new guitarists, John Verity and John Grimaldi, to form the band Argent. They recorded one album to fulfill their contract with Capitol Records, Circus, and then one more album under RCA Records, Counterpoints, before breaking up for good in 1976.

But what about Colin Blunstone? Like the members of Argent, he recorded one more album under Capitol Records, Planes, for 1977, before transferring to Highway 61 Records at the start of 1978.

Footnotes

1. Tracks are sourced from Argent's eponymous album from 1970 and Ring of Hands.
2. Tracks are sourced from Argent's Ring of Hands and All Together Now, as well as Colin Blunstone's Ennismore.
3. All tracks are sourced from Argent's All Together Now, excluding "Where Are We Going Wrong", taken from Ring of Hands.
4. Tracks are sourced from Argent's In Deep and Nexus.
5. Tracks are sourced from Colin Blunstone's Journey and Argent's Nexus; "Christmas for the Free" is sourced from In Deep.

Author's Comments

Wow, it has been over a year since I last featured the Zombies, hasn't it? It's really ironic that after I'd given them more recognition than they got in this timeline, I completely forgot about them for Phase Two! Hopefully this Extra Scene will rectify that issue, but even then, the Zombies couldn't last forever. Their story continues just about as it did in OTL, with the only difference being that they get more recognition by the time they reunite in the early 1990s. They deserved far better than what they got, but thankfully, being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year gave them attention, even if it was over half a century too late...

Extra Scenes: Roy Wood's Side Projects (1972 - 1979)

Roy Wood (far left) with the rest of the Move, 1970.

Roy Wood had begun working on a side project as early as 1969 while he was still a member of the Move; playing every instrument on the album, he explored various genres including classical music, folk, country, art rock, psychedelia and rock and roll. The resulting album, Boulders, was released 21 July 1972, peaking at #15 in the United Kingdom.[1] The main single off of the album, "Dear Elaine", reached #18. Ever since its release, Boulders has received critical acclaim, being regarded as a true solo effort; even Jeff Lynne was known to have spoken positively about his bandmate's album.

Wood's next solo project, Main Street, would not come out until 12 December 1975 on Jet Records, under Wizzo Band, along with former Electric Light Orchestra members Rick Price and Mike Burney.[2] The album showcased the more jazz-rock side of Wood's music, being recorded during Face the Music as it was decidedly noncommercial compared to his output on his last album with ELO. Wood's second solo album, Mustard, was released 12 November 1976, and although more commercial, it failed to chart in either the United States or the United Kingdom despite positive reviews, being regarded as one of his greatest works.

Wizzo Band would put out a second album, Super Active Wizzo, on 9 September 1977, but once again, it failed to chart, resulting in the group splitting up the following year. Roy Wood would put out his third solo album, On the Road Again, on 17 August 1979, before leaving the music scene for several years.

Footnotes

1. Boulders was not released until 1973 because of Roy Wood's busy schedule with the Move, Electric Light Orchestra and then finally Wizzard, due to Don Arden demanding that the release be delayed to avoid clashing with the Move's material. With ELO being a part of Apple, Wood would have been free to release it whenever he liked. The track listing stays the same as it did in OTL; the same applies to Main Street and Mustard.
2. Main Street was recorded in 1975 but stayed in the vaults for many years before being rediscovered in 1999 and released the following year.

Author's Comments

Once again, nothing much to say here. The last paragraph does spill a little bit into Phase Three (1977-1985), but it doesn't really have much of an effect on it in the long run.

Extra Scenes: CSNY Solo Projects (March 1975 - January 1976)

March 17, 1975

Stephen Stills - Turn Back the Pages

Released: March 17, 1975

Recorded: 1973-1975

Producer: Stephen Stills and Peter Tork

Track listing[1]

Side A

Turn Back the Pages
My Favorite Changes
Everyday We Live
In the Way
Love Story
To Mama from Christopher and the Old Man

Side B

Everybody's Talkin'
I'll Be There
How Have You Been
Shuffle Just as Bad
Cold Cold World
Ivory Tower

Stephen Stills' fourth solo album was his first to be released on Highway 61 Records. Produced with good friend Peter Tork, Stills began work on Turn Back the Pages in 1973, then under the working title Everybody's Talkin', and was mostly completed by the time he toured as part of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, only returning to work on the album at the start of 1975. Despite the recording beginning in 1973, a little less than half of the album consisted of outtakes from early CSNY sessions that didn't make previous albums such as "Everyday We Live" and "Ivory Tower".

Turn Back the Pages charted at #19 in the United States and received mixed reviews from critics. No singles were released off of the album. Reflecting on this period in his life, Stills commented that he "short-circuited for a while; things were moving too fast. I got a little crazed. Too much drinking, too many drugs. What can I say?" (2018)

January 30, 1976

Crosby & Nash - Wind on the Water

Released: January 30, 1976

Recorded: 1975

Producer: David Crosby, Graham Nash and Stephen Barncard

Track listing[2]

Side A

Spotlight
Bittersweet
Marguerita
Naked in the Rain
Dancer
Love Work Out

Side B

Mama Lion
Low Down Payment
Cowboy of Dreams
Take the Money and Run
Critical Mass/Wind on the Water

Much like Stephen Stills, David Crosby and Graham Nash worked with an outside producer for their next collaboration; in this case, Stephen Barncard. Crosby and Nash had begun recording Wind on the Water not too long after the completion of the recording for Human Highway, and even did a few shows as a duo in-between the sessions. Among the people working on the album included keyboardist Craig Doerge, who would collaborate with Crosby on songwriting in the future.

Wind on the Water received positive reviews from critics and charted at #16 in the United States. However, the sole single, "Take the Money and Run"/"Out of the Darkness", only managed to reach #52 in the same country.

Footnotes

1. "Everyday We Live", "Everybody's Talkin'", "I'll Be There", "How Have You Been" and "Ivory Tower" are all CSNY outtakes from 1969 and 1970; the remaining tracks are sourced from Stills (1975).
2. Tracks are sourced from Wind on the Water and Whistling Down the Wire.

Author's Comments

Not much to say here; just putting out the remaining CSNY solo projects from the 1975-1976 period. And in case you're wondering, Illegal Stills (1976) comes out with the same track listing as it did in OTL.